62 



THE BANTAM FOWI.. 



FIG. 3 — POULTRY HOUSE WITH COVERED RUN. 



have them so large, but too much cannot be said in favor of 

 dry quarters for Bantams. Many of the troubles of poultry- 

 men may be traced to damp quarters. Ventilation will do 

 much to remedy this, but drainage must be good and the 

 water must be directed away from the house. A little fore- 

 thought in this particular will save much worry. We have 

 had them sleep at night in a store box fixed for their conven- 



i e n c e in the 

 corner of the 

 woodshed. Have 

 left a late brood 

 out a)ll winter in 

 an old style 

 brooder for their 

 home; all the in- 

 s i d e save the 

 floor was taken 

 out of the bfooder and the mother hen and the brood lived 

 there all winter. The box was set against the south side of 

 the fence near the kitchen door and the whole lot ran out 

 every da,y. When the snow came it was swept away so the 

 ground could dry in the sun. 



The only demand for Bantam houses is comfort for the 

 little fowls and conveniences for those who care for them. 

 They are not, as a usual thing, delicate or tender, they can 

 live and do splendid in any quarters that are suitable for a 

 Leghorn; they do not at any time need heated quarters; in 

 faot they do better if not pampered and favored with 

 too much care. Some of the finer bred Game and Rose Comb 

 Bantams must have special care in very cold wealther, and, 

 as before stated, all must be protected from the damp. 

 Houses for Bantams must be built on a dry protected spot 

 that has good drainage if success with them is hoi)ed for. 



FOODI AND FEEDING. 



Bantams must be well fed, ptoperly fed and not overfed 

 nor underfed. Do not starve your breeding stock, but keep 

 them in good condition and feed them on the proper amount 

 of egg-forming food. Always give them the best, for they 

 eat so little that what they do eat should be fine in quality. 

 If fed morning and evening during the breeding season it is 

 quite enough, providing attention is paid to quality and the 

 proper quantity. 



If confined in runs, plenty of green food and grit must 

 be given them. When so confined, a meal at noon adds 

 much to their comfort and condition. For green food, cut 

 grass, clover, apples, beets, turnips, and the tops of almost 

 any vegetable are good for them. This green food should 

 be given at noon. 



The best grain for Bantams is wheat, rice, oatmeal and 

 some broken corn. When young It is best to cook the food 

 for them. Boiled rice, mixed with corn bread, wheat bread, 

 or a mixture of ground oats, corn and middlings made into a 

 cake and baked is very good. Feed the chicks quite often, 

 on small amounts each time. In this way they will not be 

 forced to overgrowth. After weaning time a small feed of 

 wheat twice a day is quite enough for them if they have their 

 liberty, where they can find seeds and bugs for themselves. 



All Bantams should have some kind of animal food. If 

 confined feed them a limited amount of ground green bone 

 with some meat in it, not too much and cut very fine. Cooked 

 meat of all kinds is good for them and there is nothing bet- 

 ter than cooked fish. There are quite a number of prepared 

 animal foods, many of them good. The best of them are 

 Crissel and Liverine. A mixture of Liverine, oatmeal and 

 middlings cooked or scalded and fed warm and crumbling 

 is a good occasional food. Crissel is excellent for laying 

 hens. It can be fed in the same manner and is a fine egg- 

 producing food. Grit of some kind, ground shell, bone and 



charcoal should always be provided in liberal quantities. 

 They are great promoters of good health. After the breed- 

 ing season, cut down the food ration of your old birds, only 

 feed them as you do the young, growing stock; but when 

 the cooler weather comes treat them as you do yourself, to 

 a little larger allowance. One of the most important factors 

 of success is plenty of pure, fresh water. This should be 

 kept in some good style of fountain, protected from the sun 

 in hot weather. These fountains should be kept as clean as 

 your own cups and saucers, and fresh water should be pro- 

 vided at least once, and when very warm, not less than 

 twice a day. The hen must quench her thrist and also con- 

 sume enough water to furnish a large per cent of water in 

 the eggs she lays. The better the water supply and the food 

 the better she lays. Here are a few hints oni feeding young 

 chicks: If yon want bone, like in the Game Bantam, feed 

 bone-forming food; if a short leg an^ plenty of feather, like 

 the Cochin Bantnms, feed rice and wheat. Always feed 

 them the kind of food that has the tendency to advance the 

 features most desired. 



SIZE AND WEIGHT. 



We advocate that all Bantams shall weigh about one- 

 fifth as much as the standard fowls they miniature; if less, 

 so much the better. The smaller the better, providing they 

 possess all the variety characteristics. We have seen them 

 too small for Bantams. This is quite as bad as too large. 

 The happy medium of size combined with the perfect form 

 is most to be desired. 



MATING. 



From three to five hens are quite enough for one male. 

 Grade this according to his vigor and success in filling the 

 eggs. Sebrights and Japanese do best in trios, and most of 

 the other males do better with two or three females. Mate 

 them early so they may become acquainted before the breed- 

 ing season, otherwise their habit of quarreling when strange 

 to one another may give you many infertile eggs. Do not 

 hesitate to inbred good, healthy stock, but do not make it a 

 rule to mate brother and sister together. This Is the most 

 unlikely mating one can have, father with daughter, or son 

 with mother will bring improvement; also, cousins in line 

 or to ancestors, but do not look for marked improvement 

 from brother and sister, it does not work well that way. 



BEST TIME FOR HATCHING. 



Bantams should be about six months old for males, and 

 a little less for females before they are fully ready to show 

 under the most favorable circumstances. We have won in 



FIG- 4— HOUSE 24x36 INCHES. COVERED RUN FOR CHICKS; SEPARATE 



APARTMENT FOR HEN; DROP DOOR IN FRONT; 



APARTMENT FOR HEN 12x24, 



strong competition with Bantam males five months old, but 

 considered the specimen rather immature. By taking this 

 as a guide you can hatch any time from April till August, 

 and later if prepared to care for late chicks. Late hatched 

 Bantams do well if properly housed; if not, they drop by 

 the wayside and die. 



